Dead Like Them
by Jen Riddle
Summary: The Muggles referred to them as Zombies, and for all intents and purposes, they were. But the wizarding world knew the truth. Lord Voldemort had started a new war, a war against Inferi.  Story will stay as Canon as possible, with an AU theme! L/J Era!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own things. You know this. I'm a poor 21 year old who spends all her money on Vinyl and Books. I'm not JK Rowling.

**Background:**

**At the height of the 1st Wizarding War, Voldemort creates an Army of Inferi. Instead of controlling them, he sets them lose to reek havoc all across England, praying on Muggle and Magic alike. Lily, fresh out of Hogwarts, sets out to find her sister, Petunia, and make sure she is still alive as she abandoned her family and swore to pretend that magic doesn't exist. James, also fresh out of Hogwarts, gets enlisted by Dumbledore to join The Order of the Phoenix and fight Voldemort/his army of Inferi. After months of trying to contact Lily to get her to join, the two finally run into each other. This is where our story begins, at the height of a "Zombie" Apocalypse. **

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><p><strong>DEAD LIKE THEM<strong>  
><strong>CHAPTER 1 <strong>

Her feet positively _ached_. Each movement, each time she set her soles back on the ground, she felt dull pains shoot through her feet. She hadn't stopped for a rest sleep in days. Didn't trust herself to be alone. But she couldn't help herself anymore. She spotted an easily climbable tree, and positioned herself on one of the top branches. She rested her back against the trunk, and although it wasn't exactly comfortable, the break in walking was like heaven to her. She took a deep breath, and with one last look at her surroundings, decided it was safe. It was quiet, and clear. It had been for two days.

She closed her eyes, and the blackness of her eyelids was all that she could see. But sleep wasn't common to her. Her mind was muddled with too many thoughts.

Where was Petunia? She had fled with her new husband, Vernon, as soon as the war was mentioned. Too scared to be around Lily or anything connected to the magical world since she knew the truth about the so-called zombies invading her life. Her parent's, though Lily had tried to get them to flee the country, had stayed put in their home. She had helped them fortify it, but knew that she couldn't stay. For her sake and for her parents, she needed to find her Sister. To know she was alright.

A few soft cracks of twigs breaking and the sound of footsteps broke her from her thoughts.

On instinct, her eyes snapped open and her wand hand rose to the ready. She knew it was likely to be an animal, but she wasn't taking chances, She slid from the branches as quietly as possible, and positioned herself on the ground, her wand pointing towards where she heard the noise.

A tall, lanky human like figure walked between the trees. That was all it took.

"STUPEFY!" She bellowed, and with impeccable aim, it hit him square in the head. The body froze, and fell to the ground with a deafening thud. She panted, and looked around, checking to see if there were any more. When she had deemed the coast clear, she made her way towards the unmoving form.

Her wand still at the ready, she approached the body. She didn't know why she did these things, but it was habit. Whenever it was one or two alone, she couldn't help but check, to make sure it wasn't a familiar face.

This particular body was face down in a pile of dirt. Jet black hair jetted across his skull, with bits of broken leaves poking into it from the fall, and follicles spraying untidily every which way. With the toe of her boot, she kicked it over. With a sharp look at his face, she felt her heart leap from her chest unpleasently.

His glasses were broken in two spots, once down the middle, and one of the left lens. His nose, spewing blood. His eyes were wide, as if surprised, and his hand clutched a wand. The last time she had seen him was at Platform 9 and 3/4, on the return of their last year at Hogwarts. He had broken up with her. They hadn't spoken since.

"James." She said quietly, tears prickling her eyes. She blinked them away quickly. She knew what she had to do. If she didn't kill him, he would come back to a fake sort of life, he would attack people. He wasn't in his right mind, it wasn't his fault. She pointed her wand at him again, directly to his forehead, ready to incite one of the few spells that could kill an Inferius.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, her wand hand trembling slightly.

It wasn't a moment too soon when the realization hit her.

Inferi didn't bleed. She looked at the blood dripping down his nose, and the wand clutched in his hand. It didn't make sense. Warrily, she backed away from the body of her former boyfriend, until she hit a tree, her back sprawling against it.

"Ennervate." She said, from a safe distance.

He groaned loudly.

"You nearly killed me." He said. Lily sighed in a huge relief, her wand arm lowering slightly. He whipped the blood from his nose with his sleeve, and picked up the pieces of his shattered spectacles.

"I-er..." She began, but couldn't figure out what to say. She was entirely speechless.

With his glasses in one hand, and wand in the other, he muttered "Repairo" before fitting them to his face again.

It was then that he noticed who his almost muderer was.

"Lily." He sputtered, stepping back a bit.

"Let me fix that for you." She gestured to slowly dripping nose, her wand ready in her right hand.

"You're alive." He continued, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

"Of course I am. Come here, I'll heal your nose." She said. "Episkey" she muttered, with a slight flick of her want. With a gut churning snap, his nose stopped bleeding and moved back into place.

"Thanks." he said, touching his nose gingerly. His eyes didn't leave hers. She looked moderately the same, though she had seem better days. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, bits were sticking out and frizzy. She had a bit of dirt on her significantly tanner face, hiding her freckles. Her clothes and hands were similar, lined with dirt.

He wasn't much better.

"Where have you been?" He asked. She shrugged simply.

"Around." She muttered. He eye'd her carefully. Though she looked the same, he knew she wasn't. She was noticeably worn.

"Around." He repeated dumbly. She nodded. "We've looked for you."

"We?" She asked, ignoring the rest of the statement.

"Sirius, Remus, Frank and Alice, Marlene, everyone." He stated.

"You're in contact with them?" Her eyes widening. Her heart seemed to beat faster, knowing that at least a small part of the people she cared for were alive and well.

"I live with them. We have a camp, just over the hill." He pointed north, but all Lily could see was a thick cluster of trees.

"I... tell them... tell them I said to take care." Lily muttered. She shifted the backpack on her back.

"Tell them yourself!" James laughed. "You're not leaving. Not that we know you're alright. You've got to join us."

"Join you?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "Join you in what? Hiding away from the war? I will not! I have people to... to..." She sputtered, exasperatedly. As if she'd lie low while her family needed her.

"We're not hiding." James defended. "Just because we live out here- and if you're all the way out here, what are you doing, if not hiding?" He folded his arms across his chest, standing taller. She knew better than to be intimidated by his height.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." She turned away, making to leave.

"And where are you going? Your friends will never forgive you if they don't get to see your face." He called to her. She paused, and thought of the faces of her best friends through her school years. Marlene, and her sparkling blue eyes, her smile that could make anyone smile, and of Alice, her kind face, her smooth way of talking that could heal any heart.

"Fine." She said, turning back. "I'll go say hello. Just to check in, make sure they're alright." She gulped thickly. It had been months, a few more hours wouldn't hurt.

She followed James up the hill, through the thicket of trees, and after they reached the top, he handed her a slip of paper, scrunched in his pocket and folded many times over. She took it from him, and eye'd him skeptically.

"Read it." He said.

She unfolded the paper with a bit of difficulty, and read the text, scrawled in loopy handwriting.

"To yourself." He added, as she made to open her mouth.

The head quarters for the Order of the Phoenix is located at Latitude: 51.779202 and Longitude: -2.614445.

The paper emitted a ream of smoke, curdled up in fumes, and vanished.

She made to look at James with a puzzled expression, but before her eyes, the trees began to expand and unfold splaying across a clearing in the trees where the sun fell down upon them, warming her face.

The most extrusive feature was a 12 foot high, barbed wire topped fence that surrounded the enclosure. It's looming figure wrapped a large square around the buildings inside. James grinned at her face as it widened in amazement.

Inside the enclosure was a dozen or so cabins, as if it were a campsite, with a larger cabin at the back. A well sat in the middle of the circle of cabins, and dirt paths connected them all.

"It used to be a childrens camp. It's been long abandoned. Dumbledore removed all trace of it. Even removed the road leading to it." James explained. "We can't set up a base in the middle of a town, it's too populous, and as memory charms don't work on Inferi, the fiddelus charm and whatever other repellent charms he's set up are useless to them. That's where the fence comes in. He stepped forward and stood blankly infront of a solid area of fence. With a complicated wand movement, an area just big enough for someone to squeeze through vannished. James led Lily in before him, then turned and made the doorway dissapear. "Inferi don't climb very well. And as long as there's not thousands of them, it shouldn't be torn down."

Lily nodded, still dumbfounded. It all made sense, but she couldn't believe it was real.

"So what's The Order of the Phoenix?" She asked next.

"It's a secret organization, of sorts. Dumbledore started it a few years back to counter the war against Voldemort, since he doesn't trust Ministry. And who can blame him?" James chuckled.

"Is he here, then? Is Dumbledore here?" Lily questioned, her face hopefull.

James shook his head. "Not right now. He's a busy man."

"Why didn't you go to Hogwarts if you needed a fortress?" She continued. James laughed again.

"Hogwarts is closed. Too much danger in large groups of people. The Inferi can smell it, and no doubt Voldemort would send a troop out there. Parents don't trust sending their kids there, and so they've shipped them off to foreign countries. But for us, Voldemort is looking for us. There's not a single person in The Order he doesn't want dead. If the Inferi don't kill us, he will. We've got to hide when we're not fighting. Hence the security charms. This place is completely undetectable." He smiled proudly, as if it were his doing. Lily nodded slowly and looked around.

"So... where is everyone?" She asked, noticing that it appeared to be empty.

"Ah, right." He gestured for her to follow. "We don't typically lounge outdoors. Too much noise. All the buildings have noise charms on them, but we're not entirely sure if they're usefull against the Inferi or not. They're immune to most spells, after all. We don't want to attract them if we don't have to." He explained. he walked up the steps to one of the cabins, labled number Seven, and tapped the doorknob twice with his wand. The door popped open.

Inside was a dark, empty room. A fireplace sat straight back, with two plush, red couches facing eachother in the center and a hearth rug between them. James ignited the light that hung from the ceiling between them, and cast a warm glow across the room.

"Welcome to my home." He waved across the room. "To the left you'll find a small bathroom and the kitchen, to the right, my bedroom and the spare room."

"You live alone?" She asked. James nodded.

"Typically we double up, but... well, that's another story. We think this was a staff cabin, or something of the sort. The others, save for Dumbledore's, are bigger. Families like the McKinnons, and the Bone's have claimed bigger ones."

"They brought entire familes?" Lily asked. James nodded.

"No one wants to leave their loved ones alone. You never know when you're going to see them again. And anywhere Dumbledore is, is safe." James shrugged. Lily nodded again in understanding.

"Do you want to shower?" He asked, noticing again her dirtied state.

"Please." She begged. "It's been weeks."

"I can tell." He teased. He gestured towards the bathroom he had earlier indicated, and she went inside.

"If you leave your clothes out" He called after her "I'll have Arrabella clean them for you."

"Don't be silly." She laughed. "I can clean my own clothes."

"Really, Arrabella doesn't mind. She's a squib, an old friend of Dumbledores. She likes to feel needed." He countered. Lily sighed.

"Fine." She said. Once inside the bathroom, she stripped down and slipped the clothes outside the door for him. She then turned the knobs to turn on the water. It sputtered for a moment, and then gushed an even flow of water. She stepped inside, and as anyone would, shuddered at the cold. A simple heating charm remidied the problem.

The heated water bore into her scalp, a now unfamiliar feeling. It had been months since she had a shower. For the past while, how ever long it had been, she had grown accustom to dusting herself off in streams and rivers. Breaking into homes wasn't safe, as you never knew what might be inside, and couldn't watch your back while behind a shower curtain. Besides, most of them had the water mains turned off in time of crisis.

The water rolled onto her stiff shoulders and she didn't even mind that it was hoter than a shower at her home may be. The scalding heat tinted her sink red, and more importantly, relieved tension. It had been weeks since she had a good night sleep, or laid anywhere that wasn't stiff as, literally, a rock.

The water poured over her face and she could practically feel it removing dirt before she had even started. How had she ever taken this relieving feeling for granted?

She took longer than she probably should have to shower, but she desperately needed it. When she got out, she grabbed one of the towels off the rack and wrapped herself in it, before turning to the mirror.

For the past few months the only reflections of herself that she had seen were that in broken windows and bodies of water. She hadn't noticed how tan she had gotten. While she was never chubby, she seemed much leaner before, and her arms and legs much more toned. Her hair was longer and messy, and she ran through it with her fingers, trying to untangle the knots brush free before pulling it back into it's typical ponytail. Her lips were cracked and uncared for, and her eyes had tired circles beneath them. She leaned against the wall and closed them briefly.

"You alright in there? Do I have to send in a search team? I'm worried you may have drowned yourself." Called James joking voice. Lily opened her eyes again, green staring back at her in her reflection, and exited the room with just her towel wrapped around her.

"Ah, so you've made it out alright." He observed. He was sitting in one of the couches, a book in one hand which he set down when she walked into the room. She nodded, and sat on the opposite couch, sinking into the cushions.

"I've been keeping guard." He continued. "We do a buddy system wherever you go. No one travels alone, sleeps alone, eats alone, anything."

"I've been tavelling on my own for months. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." She folded her arms across the towel. James shrugged.

"If you're going to stay here, you're going to follow Dumbledore's rules."

"And who says I'm going to stay here?" She accused, wondering where he had gotten that idea from. He stared at her dumbly.

"Why wouldn't you?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Maybe I like being alone. I've grown accustomed to it. I can fend for myself." She explained.

"That doesn't mean the situation wont present itself where you can't defend yourself. Where you need a hand." He defended. "You're never going to find another place like this. We're self sufficient, Ministry free. And were helping people! We're not just defending ourselves!"

"I'm not a_ child_, James, I can handle myself." She snapped.

"Just because you've been lucky-" He started.

"Lucky?_ Lucky_?" She repeated, with a sharp laugh. "You left me, James Potter. I was forced to be on my own. I haven't been_ lucky_, I've been strong." She glared at him. "Where are my clothes?"

James tossed a pile of soft and warm clothes to her. She caught it, walked back into the bathroom and pulled them on.

By the time she was done, and her temper had cooled a moment, he was gone. She leaned against the sofa. She had a knack for making that boy disappear, didn't she?

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><p><strong>AN: So this will be the AN of all AN's, just a quick explanation of how this story came to be, blahdablahdablah. <strong>

**This was supposed to be a joke story. Just something to distract me when I was having writers black on the Canon L/J story I've been working on. I was reading the survival guide & World War Z, and thinking about how easy it would be for Voldemort to start a Inferius war, and all the Muggles would think they're really zombies, ya know? But anyway. Not sure how often I update, since, like I said, this is just something to distract me from the Canon story I'm writing. And I can't promise how good it will be since I'm writing it chapter by chapter, almost completely unplanned... but I'm posting it anyway. Maybe you guys will like it. **

**Oh, and apologies that it sort-of starts in the middle of the war. I promise the back half of the story will be explained. I tried to explain as much as I could in this chapter, but we'll get there. :)**

**Ah, also: I'm currently between titles. I'm going with either Brains for Breakfast or the current title, Dead Like Them. Opinions?**

**Review please?**

**Jen Riddle.**

**_Oh, and PS: What happened to the spell checker on here? I'm currently using Notepad since my Word trial expired. Bah. Please give me a heads up to any noticeable mistakes! I tried to catch as much as I could!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dead Like Them**  
><strong>Chapter 2 <strong>

Lily remembered her first kill like it was yesterday. She was sure most people did. Back then, it wasn't everyday that you killed someone, already dead or not.

She was still at home at that point. A nail held between her teeth, and a hammer in her hand. Petunia had griped at her about using magic, with, what Lily thought was a silly notion, that it would attract more of them, and so she was destined to do it the 'old-fashioned' way. Her Dad had gone to the hardware store and picked up planks of wood. Together, he and Lily were, in his words, Zombie-Proofing the house.

"Tuney, come help me." Lily asked as she tried to hold the board, the hammer, and the nail simultaneously over the kitchen window above the sink.

"Don't call me that." Petunia barked, not putting down the book she was reading.

"Petunia." Lily clarified. "Give me a hand."

"Can't." Petunia answered. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Why can't you?" She asked, humoring her, mostly.

"I'll get dirty." She replied. Lily set the board and nail down, and Hammer in hand, half ready to bash her sister in the face, turned to her.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't stutter." Petunia snorted, and turned a page in her book. "Vernon's going to pick me up soon, and I don't want to look like a miscriant. Or worse, like you." She smiled to herself, still not meeting her sisters eyes.

"You're kidding me, right?" Lily asked, exasperated.

Petunia took the time, now, to look up, and with her pale eyes, she met Lily's gleaming ones.

"Lily, you and your kind may have settled for this to be the end of the world or whatever, but I haven't, and I still have Appearances to keep. Now, I'm going to paint my nails." She set her book, a romance novel, on the table, and marched upstairs.

"You suck!" Lily called after her, angrily. Assuming Petunia wouldn't care how the windows became boarded as long as she didn't have to witness it, she picked up her wand, and swished it at the boards and window, using a permenant sticking charm on them to make them hold. She smiled to herself, observing her handy-work.

"I think that merits a well deserved break." She smiled to herself, and pulled a glass from the cabinet above the sink, filling it with water.

It was mid-sip that she heard the crash, a loud smashing of glass. Nearly in unison, Lily dropped her cup, causing the water and glass to crash and swim over her toes. Ignoring this, she brandished her wand and jogged to the stairs to where she had heard Petunia scream.

"I SWEAR, PETUNIA, IF THIS IS ABOUT HAVING THE WRONG SHADE OF POLISH -" She started, taking the stairs two at a time.

She wretched open the bathroom door, causing Petunia to nearly fall on top of her. She had clearly pushed herself against the door.

"What is going-" Lily started, but at that moment the shower curtain was torn down, and on the other side was one of the ugliest creatures Lily had ever seen. Its eyes were staring, unblinking, and seemingly misted over, as if there were cobwebs over his eyes. Its skin was dark, as if completely bruised. It was nearly hairless, with only a few lank pieces protruding from it's scalp. Its body was skeletal, with the skin pulled so tight that you could make out each and every bone, some bent oddly.

"Tuney, go to your room. Lock the door." She pushed her sister away, and without having to be told twice, she ran. Lily heard the door slam shut behind her.

Her hand shook as she raised her wand, and the decaying creature crawled over the bathrub, the broken window blowing warm summer air towards her, bringing with it the smell of the dead human before her. Her eyes brimmed with tears at what she knew had to be done. She had read the pamphlets, she knew how to do this.

It wasn't exactly killing, anyway. It was already dead. Whoever this person used to be, it didn't remember.

She cried "Incendio" and a jet of flames emitted from her wand and struck the Inferius straight in the face. The force of the spell caused it to stumble backwards, hitting it's head on the edge of the bathtub with a sickening crunch of it's neck breaking, and it began to catch fire, spreading down the entire body, turning its deathly body into Ash as it disintegrated towards the ground. When there was nothing left of the body, she cast a jet of water over the ashes, to be on the safe side, and then levitated the remains into the toilet, which she flushed. All that was left was scorch marks on her mothers, otherwise perfectly polished linoleum floors.

She leaned against the wall, her breathing heavy, and eyes wet. It sure didn't feel like she wasn't killing someone. She blinked rapidly, crying wouldn't help this, and went to check on her sister.

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><p>It was a dream of these events that Lily awoke to, her breathing heavy. She reached for her wand, but it wasn't in the liner of her jeans as it typically was. She jumped up, and was momentarily stunned by her surroundings until the day before washed back into her.<p>

She wasn't home. She wasn't with Petunia. She was in some camp, run by Dumbledore. The Headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix. James was here. _James was here._

"Looking for this?" came a calm voice from behind her. Lily jumped, spinning on her heal. Remus Lupin twidled Lily's wand in his thin fingers.

Lily snatched it from him.

"Remus." She said, quietly. He smiled at her, a motion which she couldn't help but return.

"Sleep alright?" He asked.

"More or less." She responded with a shrug. Nightmare's aside, it had been months since she had a couch to sleep on. She was used to sleeping in trees, and on rough forest floors. "Where's James?"

"With Sirius. He claimed he couldn't stand another moment with, 'That Infuriating Woman', his words, not mine, and sent me to keep an eye on you. You've been asleep since I got here." He chuckled.

"How long?" She asked.

Remus shrugged. "Six or so hours."

"And you've just been sitting here watching me?" She asked, eyebrow raised. She didn't like the idea of someone watching her sleep.

He laughed. "Not exactly. Keeping watch, mostly."

"I'm not a child, Remus-"

"We _know_, Lily." He sighed. "James has already told us about your infamous speech."

Lily folded her arms across her chest.

"He also..." He stood up now, moving towards her. "He also claims you're not staying here." He folded his arms as well.

"Why should I? I don't need the protection-" She began.

"Merlin, Lily, staying here isn't about _the protection_!" Remus cried, letting his arms fall to his sides, his face flushed tremendously. "It's about protecting anyone who's not here!"

"Excuse me?" Lily asked, eyebrows raised.

"We're not all here hiding away." Remus explained, his tone heated. "I can't believe you'd think that of us! We're fighting, Lily. We're taking out as many Inferi as we can, and saving as many people, Muggle or Magic, as we can. We're trying to Undo what You-Know-Who's done!"

"I thought the Ministry was in the business of saving people? Didn't they set up a spell to alert them whenever someone is in trouble?" Lily pressed.

"The Ministry isn't doing anything. They're holled up underground with protective spells cast around the building. No one can get in there unless specified and having gained clearence. It's impossible. No one leaves, and no one enters. They don't _do_ anything. You can report a person in danger, and they'll claim to send someone from the Auror Squad out, but a month later you'll find that person's decaying body crawling towards you."

Lily had to actively surpress a shudder.

"We've intercepted their line of calls. We're not going to let innocent people die." Remus explained.

Lily nodded, feeling embaressed.

"So will you stay?" He asked. Lily bit her lip. "If you leave, you'll be seen as a coward."

"I'm not a coward." She stated.

"I know that." Remus added. "But no one else will."

"Im trying to find my sister." Lily explained, quietly.

"Your sister?" Remus asked, brows furrowed.

"She left with Vernon Dursely, her Fiance. I haven't seen them since. I can't find them." She said sadly. "I want to be sure she's alright. I can't stay here."

"We can help you! You're not going to find anything, traveling by foot on your own-"

"How else am I going to?" She accused, her voice raised.

"We have Dumbledore, Lily." Remus urged. Lily met his eyes, which were bearing into her knowingly.

Lily nodded, admitting defeat. He was right, after all. Traveling alone wasn't getting her anywhere. And they could help.

"So you'll stay?" He asked brightly.

"At least for a bit." Lily replied. Remus pulled her into a tight hug, a smile on his face.

"Good. We've missed you." He said cheerily. She couldn't help but return the gesture.

"I've missed you too." She said.

* * *

><p>Before Lily could protest, Remus had taken to showing her around the camp. He pointed out the cabins, indicating who stayed in which ones, reciting the watch schedules off hand, and listing the duties - everything from huntinggathering food, to cooking, to cleaning and etc. To Lily, it seemed that everything was very organized.

It wasn't until they marched the steps of the mess hall - the large building in the back of the camp that loomed over the cabins - that Lily saw another member of The Order.

As they reached the top stairs, the front door swung open.

"Ah, Remus!" A tall, well built man with a full head of dark brown hair greeted.

"Caradoc." Remus smiled and nodded.

"I've just seen Dumbledore." Caradoc sighed. "He's on a floo call with Millicent Bagnold right now." He shook his head.

"The Minister?" Remus questioned. Caradoc nodded.

"I don't know where he expects to get with her. Frankly, I'm not sure how she got appointed in the first place." Caradoc rolled her eyes. "Hiding down in that Ministry, not doing a damn thing. I think Dumbledore is trying to talk some sense into her, but the only 'Progress' -" He air quoted "- Seems to be that she gave the Auror Squad the right to use Unforgivables."

"A lot of good that will do." Laughed Remus. Caradoc nodded in his direction.

"They're a bunch of Cowards, down at the Ministry. Part of me wishes Frank and Alice hadn't left their training so they could talk some sense into that lot." Caradoc shook his head again. "But, excuse me, I'm being rude. Who is your lovely friend, Remus?" He asked, smiling.

"Ah, right." Remus turned to Lily. "Caradoc, this is Lily Evans. Lily, Caradoc Dearborn."

"Nice to meet you Miss Evans." He smiled at Lily, his teeth a gleaming white and perfectly straight. Lily nearly blushed at the notion.

"Lily, please." She replied, returning the gesture.

"Will you be staying here?" He asked.

"Remus has taken to convincing me." She said.

"Good Man, Remus." Caradoc smiled again. "Now, I'm terribly sorry, but I've got to get going. I promised Arabella that Benjy Fenwick and I would do the hunting tonight. She's really hoping for something good. I think we may go into town and find some real food." Caradoc winked at the pair.

"Be careful." Remus warned. Caradoc simply laughed, and descended the stairs past him.

"Caradoc was two years above us at Hogwarts, do you remember?" Remus asked as he pulled open the front doors for Lily.

"I think so. He was a prefect, wasn't he? Ravenclaw?" She asked.

"If I recall, he's still quite upset about being ousted for Head Boy." Remus chuckled. "Claimed he was a shoe-in."

* * *

><p>"You really didn't have to do all this." Arabella Figg, a middle aged woman with frizzled dirty blonde hair, scorned the two boys, Caradoc and Benjy, as she served up a delightful dinner of Roast, Carrots, and Brussel Sprouts. The boys had snuck into the nearest town and salvaged some of the more perishable foods, a rarity that the group, as Lily learned, nearly never had. They were so used to munching on anything found in the nearby woods that this was an exciting affair for everyone. Lily, too, was grateful for the food, as she to had been living off the wilderness and anything she could scrounge from passing farms.<p>

"We grabbed you some Eggs, too, Mrs. Figg!" Benjy Fenwick, a tall, lanky blonde haired man with a boyish face grinned as he handed her a basket full of large, brown eggs. "For breakfast." He added.

"Boys! We're supposed to be staying safe, not worrying about the quality of our food, and Benjamin, I've told you a million times, It's Arabella!" She huffed, scraping Sprouts onto her own plate.

"Hard to stay vigilant on a bad stomach, Arabella." Caradoc laughed as he spooned large bites of food into his stomach.

Lily laughed at this exchange, feeling much more jubilant than she had in months. Her old Hogwarts friends sat to her side, excited as she was to see eachother again. Marlene rattled on about anything that Lily had missed during their months apart, most of it Lily didn't care for, but was gracious all the same. The news of Alice's impromptu wedding to Frank Longbottom was the most interesting news, although Lily couldn't say she was shocked by it. The pair had been Hogwarts Sweethearts, together inseparably since their fourth year of school. The two sat together at dinner, hand in hand, blushing at Lily's congratulations and apologies that she couldn't attend the afair.

"No, Really, Lily. We're sorry you couldn't be there either, but it was very last minute. Dumbledore did the honors. It was all very quiet and, well, we couldn't be happier." Alice kissed Frank's cheek, who squeezed her hand more tightly. "We just..." She blushed. "We wanted to make sure we were married incase anything happened to either of us. Neither of us could go a day without each other. We knew we were perfect for each other."

Lily smiled. "As did everyone else."

"What about you and James?" Frank asked. "Any wedding bells in the future?"

Lily nearly choked on her water.

"James Potter?" She emitted a nervous laugh. "More like funeral arrangements. One of us is bound to kill the other."

Frank furrowed his brows. "Last I saw, the two of you were kissing goodbye at the hogwarts express."

"Was that before or after he broke her heart?" Marlene mused, having been told the whole story moments after it happened.

"Marlene, I'm fine, my heart is still in-tact, thank you." Lily said in a hushed tone.

"What? Alice and I were sure... he spent so much time looking for you..." Frank shook his head.

"He what?"

"Frank, hun, you're not the best with subtlety, I don't think this is a topic Lily would really like to talk on..." Alice squeezed his arm. Lily opened her mouth to protest, but the arrival of Albus Dumbledore temporarily muted her.

He cleared his throat as he entered the room, and the simple motion drew all attention to him. Every head in the room turned to face him.

"There's been an Alert in Crawley." He said slowly, but in dominant tones. His eyes clicked with James, and then he turned and walked away. It was simple and quick, but Lily was sure she wasn't the only one who felt the heaviness of it all.

"Frank, Sirius, Alice, Caradoc, Benjy, Fabian and Gideon. Lets go." James stood, spewing out the order as if it were something he did every day. Those who's names were called stood up immediately, abandoning their half-eaten plates, and followed James to the room next door.

Lily turned to Marlene. "What's going on?"

"They're going to help people." She shrugged.

Lily looked towards the door that had just clicked shut, and without thinking, she jumped up and followed.

"Lily, what are you-" James started as she entered the room. He held broomsticks in his hands, half extended to hand them to everyone else.

"I want to go." She stated, and she snatched a broom from James unknowing hands.

"No." He said flatly. "You haven't been trained."

"Haven't been trained?" She asked, wide eyed. "I've been on my own!"

"Lily-" Alice started, placing her hand gently on Lily's arm.

"No! I want to go! I want to help people! I'm not going to sit around here and wait for you to come back!"

James snatched the broom back from her.

"No." He stared at her with determination in his eyes.

"Why not? I didn't decide to stay here so I could sit around while you lot go out and-"

"Merlin, Lily, you're not ready-" James started.

"I'm not a child, Potter!" She growled.

"I'm not going to let you go out there and get yourself - I mean - get everyone else killed!" He stuttered, staring at her in disbelief.

"Lily, Honestly, you need to go through training first..." Alice said quietly, stepping between her friend and James. "It's not about how well you can fight, we all know you can fight, Lily. It's about learning how to work as a team. We have all these rules, and regulations. Certain spells we use, and one's we don't. It's really important though, Lily."

Lily looked into Alice's bright blue eyes, beaming at her. Alice had always been one of the few that could calm her temper.

With a final, hurtful gaze at James, she stormed from the room.

"Smooth, James. If you're going to win her back, I'm not sure that's the way." Sirius snorted.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN Alright, Chapter 2! As always, please review! I want to know what you think. Chapters following this should have lots more action. :) _**

**_-Jen Riddle_**


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